


Let Me Be Your Lucky Charm

by nogrey



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Gryffindor Byun Baekhyun, M/M, no beta we die like men, slytherin zhang yixing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-05-28 05:14:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19387219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nogrey/pseuds/nogrey
Summary: Baekhyun can't believe that Yixing could possibly a slytherin. Someone so kind and caring didn't belong in slytherin. Someone so perfect, flawless, ethereal... Baekhyun's soulmate couldn't possibly be a true slytherin.Alternatively, Byun Baekhyun is hopelessly in love with Zhang Yixing. Even though they've only spoken once. To give directions. Baekhyun doesn't believe that the love of his life could really belong in his rival house, but perhaps he can learn to love all of the traits he claimed to hate if they're part of the right person.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically, Baekhyun adores his idealised version of Yixing. Then he meets the real Yixing. And adores him anyway, even if he's not what he expected.  
> Perhaps this was written in part because of how many Exo fans like to ignore 90% of Yixing's personality in favour of seeing him as a ditzy angel. Like, this is the man who get sent back to China for six months as a trainee because he got in a fight.  
> Title comes from Keepsake by Basement.

I still think it’s fake,” Baekhyun said as Chanyeol settled onto the bench across from him, already reaching out to ladle a hearty serving of mashed potato onto his plate.   
“What’s fake?” He asked distractedly, adding a small mountain of sausages and then proceeding to drown the entire plate in gravy. Once he was satisfied with his meal, his brain finally began to process the conversation, “You’re not on about Yixing again, are you?”   
“I’m just saying, when have you ever seen him convey a slytherin trait? He should have been in hufflepuff, or maybe even ravenclaw. He’s always in the library.”   
“The houses aren’t as defining as you think, Baek. Plus, you’ve literally never talked to him. How would you know what he’s like?” Chanyeol paused eating just long enough to complete his sentence, before he resumed inhaling food at a rate that was almost off-putting to look at. At Baekhyun’s disgusted look, he spoke through his mouthful,” What? I need the energy. I swore that I’d be able to beat Minseok at wizard chess, so we’re playing after dinner.” 

Wrinkling his nose, Baekhyun cast his gaze away from his friend and across the hall to where Yixing sat. The older boy seemed absorbed in conversation with some of his housemates, his distinctive dimples deep enough that Baekhyun could just about make them out even from where he sat.   
“I have spoken to him...once,” He pouted, “And it counts! Even if it was just to tell me where the potions classroom was in first year...hang on, did you just say Minseok?”   
“Uh, yeah?”  
“Ravenclaw Minseok? Seventh year Minseok? Seventh year Minseok from Ravenclaw that Yixing hangs around with? I’m going to come and watch.”

“What?” Chanyeol seemed bewildered for a moment, until his brain managed to catch up, “Hey, is this just to further your plot to get close to Yixing? You weren’t going to come and watch me anyway?”   
He seemed genuinely hurt. A pang shot through Baekhyun’s heart, “No, no, of course I was going to come. The fact that Yixing might be there is just extra incentive. I couldn’t possibly miss my best friend beating the reigning champion of Hogwarts at wizard chess now, could I?” 

“Best friend?” A new voice came from behind Baekhyun, “I didn’t know that I was going to beat Minseok at wizard chess.”   
“I can have two best friends, Jongdae,” Baekhyun whined. The hufflepuff just beamed cheekily, dragging both Baekhyun and Chanyeol out of the hall.   
“Come on,” Jongdae urged them, “There’s still twenty minutes left of dinner. That’s twenty minutes of intense coaching for Chanyeol.”   
“I don’t need coaching,” Chanyeol insisted, but when Jongdae sat down in the clock tower courtyard and produced his chessboard he leaned over intently and discussed tactics intently with Jongdae. 

Baekhyun, never one to be interested in wizard chess, entertained himself by watching the fountain in fascination. Being one of the older parts of the building, the clock tower courtyard tended to be quite empty most of the time. He gathered that Minseok and Chanyeol had agreed to play there for that very reason. 

It hardly felt like a few minutes before Minseok appeared. He was accompanied by Junmyeon, a fellow Ravenclaw who was in sixth year and, to Baekhyun’s excitement, Yixing. The three of them had formed a trio not unlike Baekhyun’s own, with a two to one ratio of different houses. Baekhyun, a proud Gryffindor from an unbroken line of proud Gryffindors, had filed it away as evidence that somehow the sorting hat had messed up when it placed Yixing in slytherin. Chanyeol and Jongdae always told him to not judge so strictly by houses and he truly tried not to, but there was absolutely no way that sweet, lovely Yixing could be in a house reserved for those who were cunning and ambitious. 

“Hey,” Minseok greeted Chanyeol, smiling at Baekhyun and Jongdae. He seemed relaxed and completely unconcerned, in stark contrast to Chanyeol who was already practically vibrating in anticipation, his ears beginning to go pink like they tended to when he got really competitive.   
“I’m not going to lose this time,” Chanyeol told the older boy eagerly, “I know all your tricks now, you can’t beat me.”   
“All of them?” Minseok laughed, not unkindly, “Okay, we’ll see. It’ll be quite tragic if I lose my seven year winning streak just a few months before I finish school.” 

“Um, hang on a moment,” Jongdae turned to Chanyeol in mock fury, “You didn’t tell me that you’d already lost.”   
Chanyeol had the gall to look embarrassed for a brief moment, until his eyes sparked with competition, “I might’ve lost once, but I’ve studied a lot. There’s no way that he can beat me today.”  
“If only you’d put that much effort into studying for the history of magic test,” Baekhyun teased, “You might have gotten a grade higher than a P.”   
Chanyeol only shrugged, unconcerned, “As long as I do better for the actual O.W.L.s,” He justified, “It doesn’t matter how I did on a measly mid-term test.” 

Baekhyun laughed, not pushing it anymore as their match commenced. Jongdae and Junmyeon hovered, each offering a running commentary and advice to their respective best friend’s, which was promptly ignored. Happy just to be in good company, Baekhyun leaned back on his palms and tuned out their chatter, only concentrating again to give some form of verbal praise whenever Chanyeol appeared to get even more excited. 

Yixing seemed to be paying even less attention to the game. He had a textbook balanced on his knees and was using it as a surface for his parchment whilst he wrote an essay. Trying not to be too obvious, Baekhyun watched admiringly. The slytherin was especially attractive whilst he was focused, his usually dreamy gaze sharpening as he stared intently at his writing. Curious, Baekhyun peaked over to see what it was that he was so focused on. He was surprised by how atrocious Yixing’s handwriting, a messy loopy scrawl that left it mostly indecipherable from his angle. He did manage to pick out a couple of words, enough to come to the conclusion that it was a potions essay. 

Yixing looked up suddenly, meeting Baekhyun’s gaze. His eyes were a deep brown, the same as Baekhyun and basically all his friends, but they were a special brown. Mesmerising, endless, framed by gorgeous long lashes that brushed against the delicate skin of his cheeks when he blinked.   
“I know you’re still in fifth, but you don’t happen to know how many times you’re supposed to stir a drought of living death before you add the sloth brains, do you?” 

For a moment, Baekyun’s brain turned to a mush that could probably rival the sloths brains in the potion. He gazed blankly back at the love of his life, unable to even begin formulating an answer.   
“It’s okay if you don’t,” Yixing was beginning to look concerned, “I just can’t remember and this essay is due first period tomorrow.”   
“No, no, I-” Baekhyun scrambled desperately for an answer. He was actually quite good at school and performed well academically. He was even predicted to get a couple of O’s in his O.W.L.s. However, never before had he regretted not being an even more exceptional student and reading ahead to sixth year. 

“It’s twice clockwise, Xing.”   
Baekhyun almost collapsed. He’d missed his chance. His first opportunity to actually say something to Yixing for the time since he was eleven, and he’d completely blown it. Not only that, but the dazzling smile that Yixing sent shot to Junmyeon, all ridiculous dimples and sparkling eyes, could have been directed at Baekhyun. If only he hadn’t messed up. 

Yixing finished his essay without needing to ask for help again. Baekhyun spent the rest of the game staring intently at the chessboard, trying to concentrate on how well Chanyeol was playing instead of how Yixing had rested his head on Junmyeon’s shoulder, eyes closing tiredly. Maybe if he had known about the drought of living death, that could have been him. 

Still, a smile that dazzling couldn’t possibly belong to a true slytherin. 

***

“It’s three in the morning, Baek,” Chanyeol said, snatching Baekhyun’s book from his hands, “Why on earth are you still reading? In fact, why are you reading A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration? We don’t need that until next year.”   
“Maybe I just want to be advanced in transfiguration,” Baekhyun responded primly, snatching it back and meticulously smoothing out the page that had become crumpled. Chanyeol simply stood and waited, tapping his foot obnoxiously. It worked, “Okay, perhaps I just want to be prepared in case Yixing ever asks me for help again.” 

“Are you serious? You’re studying for N.E.W.T.s before you’ve even taken your O.W.L.s for the sake of a crush?”   
“It’s not a crush, Chanyeol. That makes it sound so trivial. We’re soulmates, Yixing just doesn’t know it yet.” 

Chanyeol still didn’t look convinced; he just took the book again, more gently this time and placed it on Baekhyun’s bedside table, “You don’t need to spend the night studying for Yixing’s exams. If you go to sleep now, you might just be awake enough to go and watch him play in the slytherin vs hufflepuff quidditch match tomorrow.” 

“YOU’RE A GENIUS, CHANYEOL!”  
At Baekhyun’s hugely obnoxious exclamation, one of their roommates yelled at them to shut up. Although he slapped an apologetic hand over his mouth, he couldn’t hide the enormous grin that had appeared on his face, “That’s it! If I want to be around Yixing more, I should join the quidditch team!” 

“What-” Chanyeol broke off, deciding not to push it any further. Baekhyun was spectacularly stubborn and once he had an idea in mind, it was near impossible to talk him out of it, “You can do that tomorrow, Baek. For now, we need to sleep.”   
“Yeah, yeah,” Baekhyun obediently blew out his candle, plunging them into darkness, “I can’t wait for tomorrow. Good night, Yeollie.”   
“Night, Baek.” 

***  
“Let me get this straight,” Michael, the gryffindor captain started incredulously, “We’re well over halfway through the school year. Try-outs were months ago and when we were trying to get people to join you said, and I quote, that you’d rather choke. We have a match against slytherin next week. And you suddenly want to join the quidditch team?”   
“Michael, you are exactly correct,” Baekhyun answered solemnly.   
“Am I allowed to ask what brought this on? I’m pretty sure that you haven’t touched a broom since the compulsory first year flying lessons.”   
“I don’t know,” the fifth year shrugged noncommittally, “I just realised that maybe I don’t want my years at Hogwarts to fly by without participating more, especially in house activities. And what brings the house together more than quidditch?”   
“Right…” Michael still didn’t look convinced. 

“It’s a perfectly sound proposal,” Baekhyun launched into his pitch, “I can just join normal team practices, no need to give me a catch-up. It’ll be my business to try and keep up. You can put me in any position you want, no complaints from me. I know you have a full team right now, but almost half of them are seventh years. Therefore if I join, I’m all trained and ready for next year. Plus, I can sub in if anyone gets injured. Where do you lose?”   
“I lose if I waste my time and energy on you, then you decide in a couple of weeks that it’s too hard and you don’t actually want to be on the team at all.”   
“Not a chance!” Baekhyun used his best trustworthy expression, utilising the puppy-dog eyes, “I really, sincerely want this.” 

Michael looked confused and a little put-off, but a bright spark like him could recognise a good deal when he saw one, Baekhyun knew. His planning paid of when the older boy sighed, then shrugged, “I suppose we’d better get you a uniform then.” 

***  
Two practices in, Baekhyun was definitely remembering why he had never wanted to join the quidditch team before. He wasn’t half bad on a broom and for once his small size actually came in handy, enabling him to reach some pretty decent speeds. Really, he was a great fit for the team. However, the English weather was as gloomy as ever and spending hours out in the lashing rain, occasionally tumbling from his broom and into the mud was not the most enjoyable way to spend his evenings. He’d return to the castle, soaked to the bone with aching muscles and not be able to collapse in bed like he wanted. O.W.L.s were looming and despite his more carefree personality, Baekhyun considered school important and never failed to complete his homework. 

It was on his third practice that he was rewarded. It was a Thursday evening and for once the sky was clear. It was grey and the air had a bitter sting that had no business existing in spring, but he had to count his blessings as there was no rain. He trooped onto the field alongside his teammates, still wearing the secondhand quidditch robes that were much too large for him and armed with his elder brother’s old broom. The robes were less than desirable, but the broom was pretty good. Baekbeom had been on the team when he was at Hogwarts and although it was a few years behind the newest model, his broom still held up pretty well. 

“Give me a minute,” Michael suddenly announced, eyeing another gaggle of students that had gathered further onto the pitch, “I definitely booked the field for tonight. There shouldn’t be anyone else here.” 

Baekhyun squinted as their captain marched over and glimpsed distinctive green uniforms. In fact, it was a familiar silhouette that Michael seemed to be talking to. One that Baekhyun may or may not have spent hours gazing at. The two captains talked for a few minutes, before both walked back over to the Gryffindor team. 

Yixing looked really good in his quidditch uniform. Not that he didn’t look good all the time, but the sporty fit really enhanced the masculinity that he just naturally emitted, even when he was confused or dreamy. The captain pin glimmered, a symbol of just how superior he was to every other human ever to exist. He smiled apologetically at his rival team, eyes flickering briefly over to Baekhyun, “I’m really sorry, guys. It seems that the pitch was double-booked. Annoying as it is, both teams need to practice, so Michael and I agreed to share. We’ll stick to the other side and not bother you.” 

With that, he smiled once again, ducking his head in apology, before turning and heading back to where his own team was waiting. Baekhyun stared after him, more than a little star-struck, until Lucy whacked him upside the head.   
“Close your jaw, brat,” She told him. She was only half-joking; Baekhyun had to come to learn that she showed her affection through minor violence, but she also took quidditch deathly seriously and Yixing was some strong opposition. He obediently shut his mouth.

“We actually have to share with slytherin?” Someone else complained, “They’ll see all our tactics for next week.”   
Michael sighed heavily, “I know it’s less than ideal, but they can’t help it either. They don’t really have an advantage anyway when we can see their practice as well. We’ll just have to focus on ourselves the best we can.” 

Baekhyun may have a slight issue with that. 

He was in a complete daze for the duration of the session. He was playing chaser for that practice, but how could he presume to take that title when the clearly superior Yixing was just across the field, actually doing it justice. He was one of the three students in school, along with third years Jongin and Sehun, in Hufflepuff and Slytherin respectively, that actually had a real chance of making a career out of quidditch. 

Four times, he completely blanked out and made no attempt to catch the quaffle when it passed to him. Three times, he realised too late and was hit directly in the face. The amount of sympathy he received lessened each time. Once, he even collided with a team member because his eyes were focused on Yixing’s form cutting cleanly through the air. 

It was on this sight that he was fixated when he became aware of a sudden volley of many people shouting his name at once. Yixing had performed a spectacular flip of some description, using his momentum to launch the quaffle with astonishing power through one of the goal loops, almost from the halfway line. Baekhyun had watched in complete awe and had barely begun to recover when he actually came to realise what he was being shouted at for. A bludger was racing towards him from the slytherin side of the pitch, approaching so rapidly and so precisely that it could only have been aimed and hit with exceptional power. 

He barely had a moment to react. Instinctively, he pulled up on his broom handle, changing angle just enough to protect his head. Instead, it shot straight into his chest. He couldn’t breath. A crack echoed sickeningly across the field and all the air in his lungs was expelled instantly. Suddenly, he was falling and his attempt to inhale was met with a striking, agonising pain that winded him all over again. 

Baekhyun’s cape suddenly pulled taught, but he’d already built up too much momentum. All the person could do was slow his descent, their broom incapable of standing up to such force. Still, when he collided with the ground it hurt much less than he was expecting. Of course, it was still horrendous and his ribs jolted so violently that it was all that he could do to turn his head enough that he didn’t throw up on himself, instead heaving into the soil beside him. 

Someone was already hovering anxiously over him, although he could hear the thuds as the rest of his team landed and raced over to his aid. Hands gently supported him enough that he could sit up, rubbing his back in soothing circles as he vomited. Then, they suddenly disappeared. 

“What the fuck was that, Zhang?” Michael yanked the slytherin captain away from his teammate, aggressively getting into his personal space, “You know, I actually thought you were decent. Were we that much of a threat that you had to take someone out?”   
“That wasn’t meant to happen,” Yixing’s voice held none of the usual gentleness. Instead, it was carved from steel, “I would never tolerate that.”   
“Well you’d better discipline your team. Scott did that deliberately- you know he did and now Baekhyun’s seriously hurt.”   
Yixing didn’t move, even when Michael jabbed at his chest, “He won’t get off lightly.” 

“I brought Madam Pomfrey!”   
Baekhyun almost sobbed with relief when he heard that. Usually, he’d be mortified to be in such a position in front of Yixing but he was just in too much pain to care. The nurse shooed the huddle of students around him away and began to probe at his chest. She didn’t say anything to him, just hummed disapprovingly when she found the break, causing Baekhyun to cry out. 

Madam Hooch must have turned up as well. Baekhyun detected her voice as he paid attention to that instead, trying to distract himself from the pain. She seemed to be talking with both team captains and the accused, discerning what had happened and the appropriate punishment. It was Yixing’s voice that held his attention the most.   
“I saw you do it, Scott. You deliberately harmed someone. I’m not standing for that. You’re off the team.”   
“What?” Scott sounded petulant and not the slightest bit apologetic, “It’s the gryffindor match next week. You need me.”   
“We don’t need anyone who’s so needlessly violent,” Yixing’s voice had never sounded so detached and emotionless. It send chills down Baekhyun’s spine, knowing that someone usually so pleasant could change so drastically, “If we lose, we lose. They lost a member and so will we.” 

Madam Hooch sounded approving, but insisted on personally taking the student to the Headmaster’s office to determine suitable further punishment. Baekhyun allowed himself a moment to flounder in the fact that Yixing had stood up for him. As Madam Pomfrey forced a suspicious tasting potion down his throat, Baekhyun added something to his list of Reasons Why Yixing Shouldn’t Be A Slytherin. Although he had sounded scary enough to be a slytherin, wouldn’t a true slytherin put his team ahead of a rival’s health?

Yixing’s so nice, he thought to himself, before falling into a potion induced unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started this, I considered sorting year groups by how they actually work in the UK, which would put Baekhyun and Yixing in the same year group. But this would make Xiumin in one year, Junmyeon in the year below, then Yixing and Baekhyun, then Jongdae, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo and then finally Jongin and Sehun. That all turns out a little awkward for friendship groups so I just went with the more typical way for Exo.   
> Also, I did settle for the first name then surname format, because again, it's the UK.

Baekhyun spent the night in the hospital wing, just to make sure that he’d be fine, but the strange array of foul-tasting potions that Madam Pomfrey had continuously poured down his throat ensured that he’d be back on his feet soon with not so much as a twinge of pain. The quidditch team had swarmed him as soon as the healer had allowed him to have visitors for a few minutes before she demanded that he sleep. 

“Blimey, Baekhyun, I almost thought you were a goner,” Jamie, one of the beaters, whistled lowly, “That snake had to have put some power into his swing to hit you like that.”   
“I’m not going to let this go,” Michael said resolutely, “Gryffindor still has its dignity. We need to get them back. Zhang won’t know what hit him.” 

Baekhyun blinked. He had reclined comfortably onto the heap of pillows stacked behind his head, but he started forward at Michael’s words, “Zhang? It wasn’t Yixing that hit me.”   
“Well, no. But he’s the captain and captain’s take responsibility for their team. Plus, Scott will probably be locked up in detention for the next few days, so Zhang is as close as we can get. They took out one out one of ours, we’ll take out one of theirs. If theirs so happens to be their captain and best player, then they shouldn’t have started it.”   
“I’m not even technically on the team!” And Baekhyun thought that he took rivalry between houses a bit far. People really did go crazy when it came to sport. 

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it,” Lucy ruffled his hair teasingly like he wasn’t two years older than her. It wasn’t his fault that she decided to grow to six-foot and train some serious arm muscles to assist in her role as beater, “You train with us. Plus, you were already starting to get pretty good. We’d have been forced to drop Smithy soon.”   
“Hey!” Jordan Smith, chaser, sounded genuinely irritated, but it was directed more at Lucy for her insolence, not Baekhyun. He batted her shoulder, but although she was generally pretty easy-going no one dared to get too mad at her. Her height and build made her intimidating, regardless of her smile. 

“Right, that’s enough of that,” Madam Pomfrey suddenly appeared, shooing the team out, “The boy needs sleep so that he can heal.”   
“Don’t worry, Baek,” Michael called over his shoulder as they were herded away, “We’ll avenge you!”   
“Don’t bother!” Baekhyun yelled after them. They didn’t respond, so Baekhyun flopped back onto his pillows dramatically. This was not how it was supposed to go. Joining the quidditch team was supposed to give him something in common with Yixing, not widen the distance between them. 

Whilst his mind envisioned every possibility that could possibly occur as a result of his teammate’s actions, the door to the hospital wing creaked open. Other than Baekhyun, there were only two other students staying overnight and all visitors had been kicked out, not just the gryffindor team. As his thoughts were interrupted, Baekhyun considered looking over, curiosity peaked as to whom would disturb Madam Pomfrey at this time; once she decided that it was time for her patients to sleep, anyone who challenged that would have to face her wrath. Still, he’d curled up comfortably in the bed and had been lying still for long enough that his body heat had created a warm, cozy nest beneath his duvet. The person was speaking in hushed whispers to Madam Pomfrey, so it was probably just one another member of staff. 

Satisfied with his deductions, he cast his mind back to worrying about what shenanigans could occur as a result of this incident. He was snapped suddenly out of his reverie at the sensation of a gentle hand on his shoulder, pressing down just enough to get his attention. He startled, immediately sitting up and the hand retreated hastily.   
“Sorry,” Yixing Zhang whispered, “I just wanted to talk to you for a minute. Do you mind?” 

Baekhyun gaped at him. This was not the scene he had envisioned for their next conversation; he’d expected to be initiator, enabling him to be suave and confident. He’d saunter up to Yixing, perhaps after the gryffindor-slytherin quidditch match and mention how well he’d played. He’d pretend not to be too complimentary, maybe offhandedly mention a particular move that the slytherin captain had pulled off well. It would trigger a more in-depth discussion, then Baekhyun would suggest that they talk more about their shared hobby- perhaps over a butterbeer in Hogsmeade. It was a flawless plan, absolutely guaranteed to work. It only required Baekhyun to study up some more on quidditch. 

Instead, he was wearing pajamas that someone had fetched for him, consisting of a hugely oversized t-shirt and baggy jogging bottoms that thankfully couldn’t be seen beneath the duvet. Although he had reasonable confidence in his bare-face, he definitely wasn’t looking his best after four ribs had been cracked by a bludger and being forced to swallow some truly grotesque concoctions in order to fix them, as well as the intense bruise that would be otherwise be forming across his back as a result of his fall.   
“Did you want to be left alone?” Yixing sounded worried, already stepping away to leave, “I’m sorry, I should have left you in peace. Of course you wouldn’t want to talk to me after today.” 

“No!” Baekhyun launched himself across the bed, completely forgetting his intention to act with a much cooler image, “I want to talk to you! I just wasn’t expecting it.”   
Yixing laughed at that. His laugh was ridiculous, loud and unrestrained. In the midst of all the perfection, it made him seem more human. Baekhyun thought that it was the most beautiful sound in the world.   
“Firstly, I want to apologise. I swear to you, it was definitely not planned. Scott acted completely of his own accord and, aside from whatever punishment the professors decide to give him, he won’t be playing on the team again this year,” The older boy spoke carefully and sincerely, hoping to express his genuine regret with his words.   
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Even ignoring how he felt about Yixing, Baekhyun was touched. He appreciated the concern, that he’d make the effort to come to apologise regardless of the lack of his own involvement, “You can’t control the actions of your team just because their on your team.”   
“As the captain, I have to take responsibility,” Yixing responded solemnly.   
“That’s what the team said,” Baekhyun murmured absently, before suddenly realising, “Hang on, that’s what you need to know! The gryffindor team are kind of mad about what happened and they’re going to take it out on you.”   
“Take it out on me?” Yixing raised an eyebrow curiously.   
“Well, the specific words ‘take you out’ may have been uttered.” 

Yixing smiled again, his dimples sinking entrancingly into his cheek, “I’m not too worried. You’re snitching on your own team, though?”   
Baekhyun’s cheeks flushed a hot red, “Please don’t tell the professors! I don’t want them to get into trouble. I just thought that you should know.”   
“I won’t tell, I promise. I can handle them anyway.” 

That may have been a bit cocky, but Baekhyun wouldn’t half be damned if it wasn’t hot. He bit his lip, unable to say anything in response. For a moment, Yixing’s expression flashed with an arrogant smirk that would've made Baekhyun’s knees weak had he been standing up.   
“Actually, there was something else I came here to ask,” Almost instantly, Yixing was back as the sweetheart that he normally was, “I really can’t stand the fact that you’re hurt because I couldn’t control my team. Is there anything I could do for you to make up for it?”

“Do for me?” It really was a day full of surprises. Baekhyun was taken aback once again, uncertain as to how to respond.   
Yixing’s expression was open and honest. He held Baekhyun’s gaze with ease, blinking sincerely as he waited for an answer. The gryffindor student initially opened his mouth to reject the need for anything, but then closed it again. This was an opportunity. Of course, he wasn’t cruel enough to demand that Yixing repay him with a date or anything, but there was the potential for them to spend time together. Then, Baekhyun’s winning personality could do all the work. 

“Actually, there is something…” He started hesitantly. He was still a bit skeptical despite his desires, as it wasn’t really Yixing that owe him anything. Still, the slytherin captain waited patiently so he surged on, “There’s a move I saw you do on the pitch earlier. You jumped from your broom to take the quaffle-”  
“You mean the D’Orazio dive? I’m still working on that. I definitely haven’t perfected it enough to use in a match,” Yixing sounded thoughtful, “Anyway, what about it?”   
“Will you teach me?” Baekhyun just swallowed his nerves and blurted it out.   
“Teach you? I hardly even know it myself,” Even as he spoke, his tone began to change and become more interested, “Although, if that’s what you want… I suppose we could learn together?”   
“Great!” Baekhyun latched on before he could change his mind, “When do we start?”   
The older boy just laughed, “Recover first. Come and find me when you’re better. In the meantime, you hang around with Chanyeol Park and Jongdae Kim, right? Madam Pomfrey is giving me the evils, so I’ll have to go now, but I’ll let your friends know that you’re okay.”   
“Okay,” Baekhyun sank back down into his cozy little nest, “It must be past curfew now, though. How can you talk to them when you’re in a different house?” 

Yixing just smiled mysteriously, before he turned and walked away. Madam Pomfrey had been hovering, ready to shove him out and if he’d taken much longer she would’ve done so regardless of whether they’d finished their conversation or not. Baekhyun briefly wondered how on earth that Yixing had even been able to persuade her to let him in in the first place. However, his thoughts went elsewhere once the nurse forced him to swallow a final potion before he went to sleep. 

As he drifted off, he added another point to his mental list of why Yixing didn’t belong in slytherin; what slytherin would go to such lengths for a member of a different house?

***

The next few days passed uneventfully. Baekhyun’s ribs healed perfectly and he was back in lessons as usual by the next day. Chanyeol and Jongdae had fussed over him initially (it seemed Yixing had succeeded in getting his message to them, although neither could explain how he had just appeared in their respective common rooms), but when it was seen that he really wasn’t in any pain, it soon died down. 

The quidditch team had had another practice, this time without the timings clashing with any other house. They hadn’t said anything, so Baekhyun could only hope that they had forgotten about their plotting. He daren’t mention it in case he inadvertently brought it back to the forefront of their minds. The slytherin-gryffindor match would be in just a couple of days, so they didn’t have much time left to enact any plans. 

Baekhyun hadn’t spoken to Yixing either. They’d passed each other in the corridor a couple of times, the slytherin flashing him a smile, but it always worked out that they were both rushing to classes with no time to stop. 

It was when he was in the library, slaving over an essay on Jupiter’s moons alongside Chanyeol and Jongdae that some younger students burst in obnoxiously. Madam Pince immediately snapped at them to get out, but they were overly excited and clearly reckless, as they ignored her completely. Baekhyun recognised them, after a moment; the infamous third year duo of Sehun and Jongin, plus the final addition to their trio, Kyungsoo, a fourth year in gryffindor. Individually, they were all quiet and kept to themselves but together the more obnoxious sides of their personality came out. 

“There’s a fight in the dungeons,” Sehun yelled, acting completely oblivious to a rapidly reddening Madam Pince trying to manhandle him out the door,”It’s the slytherin and gryffindor quidditch teams!” 

Baekhyun’s stomach dropped instantly. He abandoned his study materials, ignoring Chanyeol and Jongdae’s exclamations to take off running towards the dungeons. Maybe all the quidditch practice was having an effect as he flew across the great hall entrance to get to the other side of the castle without needing to pause to catch his breath. As he approached the slytherin corridor, he began to hear the chanting of crowds of students that had gathered- no professors had arrived yet, leading him to believe that students had passed the news around to each for sheer entertainment, not to the staff to stop it. 

He shoved his way through, for once feeling grateful for his height as it enabled him to slip through small gaps. As he approached the forefront of the scene, there was a flash of scarlet light and a wand flew into the ceiling, shot out of the hand of its owner. 

Baekhyun’s fears were confirmed when he finally broke through and saw Yixing, wand out, facing down three members of the gryffindor team. It appeared to be Smithy that had been disarmed, as the others still had their wands in their grip. Even as he watched, Lucie yelled something inaudible, vivid orange light bursting from the tip of her wand. Yixing moved so quickly it was almost invisible, throwing up a shield and counter attacking immediately with a stunning spell. At least someone moved forward to catch her when she fell back, unconscious. 

“You can’t do that!” Michael snapped.   
“Can’t do what?” Yixing shot back incredulously, “You attacked me!”   
“You deserved it!” 

Uncertain what to do, Baekhyun could only watch. Behind him, the chants began to die down and students started to disappear.   
“Alright, settle down,” Professor Flitwick had appeared to break it up, “If you don’t want to join them in detention you’d better disappear.” 

The threat succeeded in that the audience quickly dissipated, but neither Michael nor Yixing reacted. Yixing blocked another spell, but barely managed to get his shield up in time. Michael pressed, not giving the slytherin an opportunity to respond as he could barely even put up his defence.   
“I’m going to give you one chance,” Professor Flitwick told them, “Whoever casts the next spell is going to wish they hadn’t.” 

Baekhyun didn’t even know what spell it was. All he knew was that he saw Yixing’s lips moving and then green light surged out from the tip of his wand. Michael’s guard was down and he failed to react in time. It hit him directly, the sheer force of magic making him stagger. For a moment, the effect of the spell couldn’t be seen. Had it even done anything?

Then, Michael suddenly moved backwards. The way he walked was… off to say the least. Almost as though he was drunk, not in control of his own body. He stared down at his own legs in shock, “What did you do to me?”   
Yixing took a long time to respond. His knuckles were white from where they were gripping his wand tightly. Professor Flitwick had positioned himself between them, almost daring them to continue dueling, but also looked expectant, waiting for answers.   
“Knee-reversal hex,” He finally admitted, “It’ll wear off in a few hours.”   
Flitwick sighed, “I expected much better from you both. An offence of this calibre calls for the headmaster to determine a suitable punishment. To his office, now.” 

Yixing didn’t protest, or even say a word. He just pocketed his wand and stalked off in the direction he was told. His expression was frozen, lips set solemnly, eyes colder than Baekhyun had ever seen them. Behind him, the gryffindor members got themselves together, a now-conscious Lucie and Jordan helping Michael to struggle along, guiding him as he was forced to walk backwards. 

“Mister Byun,” Baekhyun jolted upon hearing his name. It was Flitwick, pausing to address him before he went to sort out the mess, “I understand that you weren’t involved in this occasion. However, you may need to be talked to later to establish exactly what happened.”   
“I understand, Professor,” He said drily. The charms teacher nodded, before disappearing, presumably to Dumbledore’s office. 

He took the trek back to the library slowly. He hoped that Chanyeol and Jongdae had stayed as their lack of presence at the scene suggested. He just needed some time to process his thoughts. It had only been a few weeks since he started practicing with the team, yet they seemed so ridiculously over-protective of him already. Honestly, there must be something more to it. The way that Michael and Yixing glared at each other was a ridiculous contrast to the politeness that they had displayed when the pitch was double-booked for practice. There had to be more to it. 

And then there was Yixing. Baekhyun had never seen him like that; anyone like that, even. The anger that flowed off him was stifling- anyone who stood too close would have been petrified. Plus, the fact that he had so easily gone from disarming and stunning spells (which were understandable in such a situation, although the stunning may be slight overkill), to genuine, malicious hexes was difficult to wrap his head around. The general view of Yixing, not only by Baekhyun but the general student population, was that he was nice. Nice, talented and hard-working were probably the three words most commonly associated with him, although he also tended to lean to dreamy and forgetful quite frequently as well. Not once in all his time at Hogwarts had Baekhyun ever imagined that the older boy could be so furious and quite frankly terrifying. 

For the first, Baekhyun thought that maybe, just maybe, Yixing did belong in slytherin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I only did this because I had a sudden urge to write Hogwarts baekxing, but I'm making the plot up as I go along so it probably doesn't seem very cohesive. Maybe one day I'll rewrite, or edit to make it fit together more, but that day is not today.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter is getting progressively shorter, but this one had a natural end point so there wasn't much point jsut dragging it out.

Professor Dumbledore’s office was an experience; never having a reason to be called in, Baekhyun hadn’t been sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t this. He kind of felt like he’d stepped into an alternate dimension. Bookshelves packed full with hefty, leather-bound volumes and eclectic trinkets stretched majestically from the floor to the high, arched ceiling. The walls were adorned with countless portraits of previous headmasters, each of whom focused their disapproving gazes upon Baekhyun upon his entrance, making him shrink beneath the weight. Steps led up to a raised platform, upon which there was a majestic wooden desk and even more spiral staircases that provided access to a further selection of bookshelves, each of which couldn’t possibly hold anything else. Most impressively, to the left of the desk was a wooden stand with an arm at the top, about the same height as Baekhyun’s chest. It wasn’t dissimilar to a simple coat stand, however instead of coats, a phoenix perched regally on top. It was beautiful; the blazing embers of its feathers waltzed mesmerizingly, plumes of fire over its head. Perhaps most entrancing were it’s eyes; an endless pitch black, as definite as the ash behind once the fire had been completely suffocated. 

If he had been alone, Baekhyun was sure that he could have spent hours just watching the creature do nothing. As it was, he was met by the sight of both Michael and Yixing standing before the headmaster who was seated at the desk. Someone must have performed the counter-curse, because Michael’s knees appeared to be correct way round again. Lucie and Jordan must have already been dismissed, the punishment for their more minor misdemeanors likely already determined. Apparently, the case of the two quidditch captains was more complex and Baekhyun had been called in to explain his own perspective on the issue. 

“Ah, Mr Byun,” Dumbledore sounded weirdly jovial for a man dealing out punishment for an unreasonably severe duel on school grounds, “Lemon sherbet?”   
There was a gap between Michael and Yixing left for Baekhyun to fill. He did so, slightly perplexed at the offer in such a scenario, “Um, no thank you, professor?”   
“Very well. Now, it seems as though this situation comes down to the incident you were involved in on the quidditch pitch?” 

“Yes, professor,” Baekhyun answered, “A member of the slytherin team intentionally hit me with a bludger during practice.”   
The professor didn’t look particularly concerned, but directed his next words at Michael, “The young man responsible for this received his punishment. However, you decided to progress the situation to a duel with Mr Zhang. And you, Mr Zhang, further progressed the duel from disarments to hexes.” 

The last statement was aimed at Yixing, who answered in a very calm, measured tone, “It was self-defence. I was attacked when returning to the slytherin common room.”   
In sharp contrast, Michael was furious, his voice burning with anger and just shy of being raised enough to be disrespectful, “You deserved it! You probably told Scott to hit Baekhyun!”   
“Why would I do that?” Yixing even sounded bored. There wasn’t a trace of unease or concern in his voice, only complete confidence in his own innocence.   
“Because I know who you are! Your parents are death eaters, locked up in Azkaban. You’ll probably end up there too, in a few years.” 

Those few words were all it took for Yixing’s unbothered countenance to shatter completely. Instead of staring resolutely at a spot somewhere just beyond professor Dumbledore, he physically turned to look at Michael. His expression, previously blank and controlled, was suddenly more vulnerable and open than Baekhyun had ever seen. Even when floating around the castle with Junmyeon and Minseok, Yixing had always seemed a little dazed, as though his mind was always somewhere else, somewhere that no one else could quite pull him back down from. Now, he was very much present, wide eyes were filled with hurt and worry.   
“How did you find out?” His voice was tight. It sounded like he had just barely managed to choke the words out, his throat having closed, preventing him from breathing. Baekhyun could already see little crescent imprints appearing on his palms from where his nails were digging in.   
“My parents told me,” At the very least, Michael seemed genuinely mad. He wasn’t speaking out of vengeance, or because of an odd sense of enjoyment. He spat his words in fury,“I wrote to them about what happened during practice and they recognised your name. How are you even allowed at Hogwarts? You could hurt someone.” 

“If any of our members of staff believed that Mr Zhang posed a threat to anyone at Hogwarts, he wouldn’t be a student here,” Dumbledore spoke firmly, not leaving any room for protest from Michael, “As it is, he has as much right to an education as anyone else. However, both of you have behaved despicably and must be punished as suited. Mr Zhang, you will be excluded for the use of cruel and unnecessary hexes that should never be performed upon another student at Hogwarts. Mr Wright, you will also face exclusion for instigating a duel with the intention of harming another student and for a lack of tolerance and respect for your peers.”   
“I can’t be excluded,” Michael protested, “Professor, I have my N.E.W.Ts soon. I can’t afford to miss classes.”   
“Your school work will be sent to you via owl,” The headmaster ignored him, “You may have an hour to pack anything you may need to take with you. When that hour is up, your head of house will collect you to be sent home.” 

***  
“Yixing, wait!” Once they had been dismissed, Yixing had fled as quickly as he could. Baekhyun attempted to chase after him, mind reeling from what had been revealed, but the slytherin boy didn’t turn and Baekhyun’s arm was caught by Michael.   
“Can I talk to you for a moment, please?” The seventh year bit his lip nervously.   
“After that? I can barely even look at you, right now.” 

He intended to turn on his heel and stride primly away, but Michael’s grip only tightened, “Baek, please. Let me explain myself.”   
“You saw him, Michael! That was completely unnecessary!” Honestly, Baekhyun wasn’t really sure what to think. It just didn’t seem to make sense, a connection between Yixing and death eaters. Sure, he was in slytherin but even Baekhyun, someone who bought in house stereotypes a little more than he should, didn’t really think that that was enough to condemn someone as a dark wizard. Especially Yixing, who was unerringly kind. However, these past few days had shown Baekhyun a side to the slytherin captain that he had never imagined could exist. He certainly had a temper, an explosive one apparently, regardless of how hard he tried to keep it in check. There could easily be more aspects to his personality that Baekhyun didn’t know about, hadn’t thought about before he imposed this blind hero worship on the older student that had directed him to potions on his first day of classes. 

“Look, I know that I went too far,” Michael was pulled him into a quiet little nook in the corridor, giving them the illusion of privacy, “I never know when to stop, to be honest. I was just so mad that you were hurt and then I found out who he was and all I could think about was that he could be capable of so much more.”   
“Firstly,” Baekhyun began, “He wasn’t the one that hurt me. Secondly, anyone in this school could be capable of hurting someone. Thirdly, why does it matter so much if I got a bit banged up? Sure, it hurt like hell but Madam Pomfrey fixed me up pretty quickly.”   
A blush spread across the gryffindor captain cheeks and he suddenly began to avoid eye contact, “Actually, that was the main thing I wanted to talk to you about. I actually...well, I noticed you on your very first day at Hogwarts, at the sorting ceremony. You were so bright, already making friends with half the other first years and the sorting hat barely took a few seconds to announce you as a gryffindor.” 

A sinking feeling began in Baekhyun’s stomach. He really did not like where this seemed to be going and there was nothing he could do other than remain quiet and listen.   
“I hoped you might notice me too,” Michael continued obliviously, “But your attention was already elsewhere. It’s been almost five years and not once have I been able to get your attention. I worked hard in class so that I could offer you help with your homework. I asked you to join the quidditch team and then when you said no I worked to become the captain so that you might notice me if you came to games. But still, it meant nothing. You’ve spent all these   
years utterly transfixed with Yixing Zhang.”   
Baekhyun rubbed his temples; a migraine was already forming from the stress, “Please don’t be telling me that you did this because you were jealous that I like Yixing.”

He didn’t even have it in him to feel any shame at his straight forward admission. Yes, he liked Yixing. Quite frankly, at this point he was completely and utterly in love with him. His mind might be clouded by everything that had happened, but his feelings couldn’t change that quickly.   
Michael scrunched his voice in frustration, “You deserve better than him, Baekhyun. Okay, before I was just jealous. But then I found out about his parents. They really were terrible people, I swear to you. They did awful things, killed so many people for he-who-must-not-be-named. Don’t you have to wonder just how much of that is genetic?”   
“None of it, Michael,” Baekhyun replied, a heavy exhaustion settling over him. At least he’d been excused from classes for the rest of the day, because he didn’t think that he could face History of Magic, “Yixing isn’t guilty for being born. Have you told anyone else about this?”   
“No,” He confessed, “I don’t intend to, okay. I get that maybe I was in the wrong. But I just spilled my guts to you, Baekhyun. I like you. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”   
“To be quite frank with you, Michael,” the younger boy was already walking away, “Not really. Not now.” 

***  
Standing in the dungeon corridor, Baekhyun felt like a fool. He hadn’t had any particular plan, just followed his heart and found himself wanting to talk to Yixing. Unfortunately, as a gryffindor student he had no idea about how to go about finding the secret entrance to the slytherin common room or what the password could be if he did find it. It was still lesson time, so there was no one else about. Defeatedly, Baekhyun leaned against the wall and slid dramatically down to the floor. 

His head dropped into his hands. The last few days were full of more stress and drama than he’d experienced at all during every other year at Hogwarts combined. Okay, he’d gotten himself in some minor trouble by sneaking around the castle after hours with Chanyeol and Jongdae, and sure there had been a couple of detentions due to being caught for the occasional prank. That had mostly been because Chanyeol, competitive as ever, had gotten himself into a prank war when another student claimed that he wouldn’t be able to keep up. 

“Baekhyun?”   
The gryffindor jolted, so immersed in his own thoughts that he hadn’t noticed someone appear in front of him. To his surprise, it was actually Yixing. Despite coming to the slytherin corridor, he hadn’t really expected to get to talk to the older boy. He’d disappeared so quickly, not reacting in the slightest when Baekhyun called after him.   
“Yixing!” He started to get up, but the slytherin shook his head gently, instead settling himself down beside him in an almost identical cross-legged position. For a long moment, they just sat silently beside each other, neither sure of where to begin. 

Despite how enamored Baekhyun was, they were little more than strangers. They had interacted before, sure, but it was always minor and always due to relationships between their friends rather than directly between each other. They certainly weren’t close enough for something so personal to be revealed to Baekhyun, especially when Yixing hadn’t chosen to tell him.   
“Can I ask you something?” Baekhyun finally broke the silence. He felt Yixing tense beside him, but he nodded anyway, “How did you persuade Madam Pomfrey to let you in to see me?” 

Yixing tilted his head questioningly, caught off guard by a topic that was completely unexpected. Still, he considered for a moment before finding the words to reply, “I help out in the hospital wing sometimes. Kind of like an internship? Madam Pomfrey teaches me how to heal and I help take some of the pressure of her as the only nurse. She let me in because she knew that I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize your recovery.”   
“You intern in the hospital wing?” Baekhyun didn’t know why that surprised him so much. His perspective of Yixing hadn’t changed that dramatically over the last few days and it fit perfectly with the character he’d built up in his head before.   
“I want to be a healer,” Although Yixing’s voice was quiet, it was firm with conviction.   
“A healer? I didn’t expect that.” 

Baekhyun regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Yixing’s body language closed off again and he turned to stare fully into Baekhyun’s eyes with a hard gaze.   
“What? You think I’m going to turn out like my parents?”   
“No, I promise that’s not what I meant,” the younger student desperately looked for the words to explain his true meaning, slightly intimidating by the fire in the eyes of his companion, “I just didn’t know. I thought maybe you’d want to be a professional quidditch player.” 

For a moment, Yixing continued to stare searchingly. He seemed to find whatever it was that he was looking for, as he let out a deep sigh, slumping back against the wall with his eyes closing tiredly, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so defensive.”   
Baekhyun just smiled and made a small sound of acceptance, taking the opportunity to observe. Even with a neutral expression, he could make out a slight indentation in Yixing’s cheek where the deepest of his dimples would appear with even the most minor quirk of his lips. His lower lip was plumper than the upper, creating the illusion of a pout. Baekhyun gazed at the boy that had been the object of his affection for the last five years, considering whether his feelings had changed at all as he discovered more about the reality, rather than the fantasy he’d created.   
“Why do you want to be a healer?” He asked, as Yixing’s eyes opened again. They sparked at the question, the dead gloom from before being replaced by an intense, burning passion.   
“I like quidditch. Love it, even. But I want to help people. Michael was right, Baehyun. My parents did countless terrible things, hurt and maimed and killed so many people. Instead of being like them, I want to dedicate my life to doing the opposite and save as many people as I possibly can.” 

No, Baekhyun decided. Nothing had changed for him. 

Yixing suddenly shot to his feet as though he had just remembered something that had slipped my mind, “I have to go. The hour is almost up and I can’t afford to be in any more trouble.”   
“Before you go,” Baekhyun began, “I have one more question.”   
“What’s that?”   
“How did you get into the gryffindor and hufflepuff common rooms?” 

Yixing considered for a moment, before he broke out into a dazzling smile, “I can’t go telling you all my secrets now, can I?”   
Baekhyun pouted, remaining in his spot on the floor even as Yixing began to walk away.   
“Baekhyun?” Yixing called from the end of the corridor, one last thing to say before he disappeared to fulfill his exclusion, “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, I'm imagining this as set sometime in the period after Voldemort 'died' but before Harry POtter arrived at Hogwarts. Also, I'm taking the liberty to make Hogwarts actually function and discipline students. I don't know how it works in other countries, but when a student is excluded they're not allowed to be in school for a certain period of time and it goes on their permanent record.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a decade but i finally got this done.   
> look at me, pretending that hogwarts has suitable disciplinary action for students like normal british schools

The next week passed with little going on. Baekhyun went to the quidditch match, but it fell flat of expectations with so many players missing. He might’ve played himself to make up the numbers for the gryffindor team if he wasn't supposed to be taking it easy after his fall. They’d somehow managed to scrounge up a few decently competent fliers to temporarily replace the three missing gryffindor players and slytherin had apparently done the same. However, with both teams down a captain their technique suffered exponentially. Neither performed terribly, but the intense, fast-paced gameplay that had become associated with the particularly competitive gryffindor-slytherin games was lacking. Mostly, one team scored and then ended up giving way for their opponents to do the same. It took two hours for the game to end, when Sehun Oh finally caught the snitch for slytherin. 

It was gloomy in the gryffindor common room. Chanyeol, ever the competitive one even when he wasn’t playing himself, flopped into an armchair next to the fire, releasing a long and woebegone sigh.   
“What were they thinking, getting into a fight just before the most important quidditch match of the year?” He whined, “We’re last in the house cup as well.”   
“Maybe if you studied, you’d be able to answer questions in class and get more house points,” Baekhyun told him pointedly, but without bite. He was too tired to really complain and Chanyeol knew him well enough to understand his meaning. 

“Let’s see if we can find Jongdae and go to the lake,” He suggested instead, “Everyone is too miserable here. Slytherin are never going to let us live it down.” 

***  
It was a cool evening, a light breeze raising goosebumps on Baekhyun’s arms. He wiggled closer into the notch he’d created between Chanyeol and Jongdae, leaching their body heat. Neither protested, just leaned in closer. They’d missed dinner, but Jongdae had managed to persuade one of the house elves to provide him plenty enough food for a quiet picnic for three. Although they were typically known to other students for being the loud, eccentric trio that seemed to know just about everybody, they too could appreciate the quiet. 

Baekhyun felt soothed, watching the gentle ripples of the lake’s shallows with his two best friends in the world beside him. His brain had been a muddle for the last few days, overwhelmed by all the information dropped on him by Michael and Yixing. Although he hadn’t gone into much detail of anything to Jongdae and Chanyeol, they appeared to sense his uncertainty and had clung to him even more than usual. He appreciated it, that they could just silently offer their presence and support without pressing to know what had happened. 

Darkness began to creep in when the sun dipped low in the sky, slowly overtaking the pretty streaks of pink, yellow and orange. As the colours faded, Baekhyun couldn’t help but sigh, knowing that they’d have to return to the castle soon. Still, he felt healed and the strange exhaustion that had enveloped him recently had dissipated. All he’d really needed was some time to relax with two of the most important people in the world.  
“Is this where you’ve been all night?”   
The trio turned in near-perfect synchronisation at the sound of a voice behind them. They were met with Junmyeon and Minseok, the two ravenclaws looking tense.   
“Minseok!” Chanyeol perked up instantly at the sight of his self-proclaimed nemesis, “I know exactly what you did last time! I swear that I’ll beat you next time we play wizard chess.”   
Minseok had a fond smile on his face, “You can try. We actually just wanted a quick word with Baekhyun. We’ve looked all over the castle for you.”   
“What is it?” Baekhyun asked. He waited patiently for a response, as the older students hesitated to provide one. When it became obvious that he had no intention of walking away with them to have a more private conversation, Junmyeon sighed, but began to speak. 

“Yixing wrote to us and let us know what happened,” the ravenclaw student began gingerly, “He also said that you know about his… familial issues, I suppose. He seems pretty positive that you can be relied on not to spread it around the school and I guess you’ve had time to do that and haven’t but…”   
Minseok picked up the point where he trailed off, “We just want to make sure that you don’t intend to tell everyone.” 

Baekhyun choked back the sickness that suddenly flooded over him. They may not be the closest, but he had thought that he had a good enough relationship with the duo that they could at least trust him to act with basic human decency. Regardless of the fact that it was Yixing that his loose lips would hurt, he would never be so cruel to anyone. As he’d said before, no one could choose their family.   
“Of course I don’t,” He snapped defensively, “I hoped you’d think better of me than that.”   
“We’re sorry to have to ask,” Junmyeon’s expression was open and honest, soothing the stabbing hurt, “We just care about him and needed to make sure.” 

“What are you talking about?” Jongdae had finally run out of patience. He and Chanyeol had minded their business without question since Baekhyun had returned from his venture to professor Dumbledore’s office, but there was a line that had now been crossed. Not involving themselves in situations that didn’t involve them was one thing, but talking so blatantly in front of them without letting them know what was going on was getting a little excessive.   
“Yeah, what’s so important about Yixing that you have to come and interrogate Baekhyun like this?” Chanyeol was starting to get a bit protective. Although he almost always leaned more on the side of friendly and amiable, he tended to be fierce in his love for his friends (even if he came across more like a big puppy than a large, intimidating dog). 

“We really can’t tell you,” Junmyeon told them, although his tone was apologetic, “It was an accident that Baekhyun found out. I promise that it’s nothing you need to worry about, it’s just private to Yixing.”   
Chanyeol remained suspicious for a moment, glancing at Baekhyun. Apparently, he saw nothing of concern, as his anger immediately dissipated and he was back to his usual, bright self, “Okay, I believe you.”  
“We should hang out more,” Jongdae added. He still looked to be a little more suspicious than Chanyeol and a slightly irritated that his lack of knowledge was being paraded about so frequently, but he always respected people’s right to privacy. Plus, he liked the older students.   
“We should,” Minseok agreed,”But for tonight, I think it’s time we headed in before we get into trouble.” 

Together, the five ambled back towards the castle at a comfortable rate. As Chanyeol once again began to enthusiastically tell Minseok that his reputation of reigning Hogwarts wizard chess champion would be shattered soon, with Junmyeon listening in bemused fascination, Jongdae hung back slightly to talk to Baekhyun. 

“So,” He began, wiggling his eyebrows conspiringly, “You know something extra top secret about Yixing that the rest of us mere mortals aren’t entitled to know.”   
“I meant it when I said I would tell anyone,” Baekhyun warned him.   
Jongdae rolled his eyes, “That’s not what I’m saying, idiot. I just mean, you actually have something that makes you significant to him. A reason for you to keep interacting.”   
“It’s not like that,” The gryffindor sighed, “It would be cruel of me to try and use his secrets for my benefit. But…”  
“Yes,” His friend prompted.   
“I don’t know… he’s just not quite like how I imagined he would be.” 

Jongdae laughed; it wasn’t out of callousness, rather the kind of amusement you may get from a close friend saying something ridiculous, “We all knew that! Even you knew that, really. Yixing’s lovely but you just dreamed up this idea that he was incapable of being anything less than perfect.”   
“Did not,” Baekhyun pouted, despite knowing that it was true, “I just thought he was too nice to be in slytherin.”   
“He can be nice and have other personality traits,” Jongdae reminded him. 

Okay, so maybe Baekhyun could finally admit that he had fallen in love with an idealised concept of a person, rather than an actual person. Jongdae had said similar things a few times over the years, but it had never fully registered before. It was safe to think of Yixing that way because he didn’t know the real person. Now, although he still didn’t know every aspect of Yixing’s personality, he could see that he was, just like anyone, a multi-dimensional person. Being in slytherin didn’t mean that he had to exclusively portray the negative traits associated with the house. 

“I think that I like him anyway,” Realisation finally dawned upon him, “I think I like Yixing Zhang, the real person.”   
Jongdae just beamed at him with an oddly proud twinkle in his eyes, “Wow, I didn’t think you had it in you,” He teased. 

If Baekhyun pulled him into a headlock, then was knocked to the ground where they wrestled until their ribs ached from laughter, then that was no one’s business but their own. 

***  
Minseok and Junmyeon became a permanent fixture in his life after that. Evenings after dinner were filled with Minseok finally sharing his secrets to wizard chess with Chanyeol, apparently deciding to prep him to take over his title once he graduated, or doing their homework together in the library with the older students sharing their own knowledge as much as they could. Baekhyun’s grades were already good, but they certainly got an extra boost as his essays began to include a more in depth range of information. 

“Yixing’s coming back tomorrow,” Junmyeon shared excitedly one night, two weeks after his friend’s exclusion, “I got a letter this morning. He said they can’t really justify him missing anymore school, but he still has three nights of detention teaching first years counter-curses.”   
Minseok snorted, “That’s what he gets for hexing someone in the corridor.”   
Clearly feeling as though he owed their other companions an explanation, Junmyeon was quick to add, “It’s difficult to make Yixing angry, but when it does happen…”   
“He does dumb stuff that gets him excluded,” Minseok finished. 

“Chanyeol’s kind of scary when he’s really upset,” Jongdae said thoughtfully.   
“What? No, I’m not!” The one in question protested, suddenly stricken. He abandoned his divination homework to stare at Baekhyun.   
“I don’t know, Yeol,” He cast his mind back to the few times he had seen Chanyeol truly, utterly furious. He was usually so bright and excitable that the contrast between that and a dark and incredibly still countenance was jarring.   
Whilst Chanyeol pouted, Minseok turned his attention to Baekhyun, “So, have you figured out what you want to say to Yixing yet?” 

Shocked by the sudden question, Baekhyun jolted in his seat and almost fell over, “Me? What?”   
“You’re a bit obvious,” Junmyeon told him kindly, “It wasn’t difficult to figure out that you like him.”  
Betrayed, Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol and Jongdae. They both threw their hands up in innocence, with the latter quickly defending them, “We didn’t tell them anything!”   
“You won’t say anything to him, will you?” He asked the older students, suddenly worried that his friendship with Yixing would be endangered.   
“Of course we wouldn’t do that,” Minseok swore, “But I think that you should.”   
“He barely knows me,” Baekhyun pointed out.   
“You can get to know him. Not to pressure you or anything, I just think that there might be something there.” 

Baekhyun went quiet for a moment, processing. He carefully observed both Minseok and Junmyeon’s faces, searching for any sign of teasing. All he saw was… honesty?  
“Are you just pitying me?” He asked suspiciously.   
“We’re not,” Junmyeon quickly soothed him, “He just seems to have gotten fond of you really quickly. He’s asked about you a lot whilst he’s been gone.”   
“He probably just feels sorry for me,” Baekhyun sighed, the hope suddenly draining out of him, “He was really apologetic that a member of his team hit me with a bludger.”   
“He’d say sorry, but if he didn’t have some particular aspect of care for you you wouldn’t have gone to the effort to get madam Pomfrey to let him see you, or to go and see these two,” Junmyeon argued, gesturing at Chanyeol and Jongdae. 

“Do you know how he did that?” Chanyeol asked, perking up, “He just appeared in the common room. Luckily, it was pretty quiet because not many people would’ve been happy to see a slytherin in gryffindor tower. “   
“I think he just made friends with some of the house elves,” Minseok answered thoughtfully, “A few portraits as well.” 

Previously, Baekhyun would’ve jumped all over that, adding it as another point on his reasons why Yixing shouldn’t be in slytherin list. Now, his thoughts turned to something he’d never really considered; why slytherin was exactly the right house for him. This new example perfectly demonstrated how resourceful he could be. Although their conversation before Yixing left for his exclusion had been relatively short, he’d still gotten a sense of the strong ambition and passion he had towards becoming a healer. His position as quidditch captain proved his leadership skills, and in a slightly more negative light his duel displayed a slightly more callous side to his nature. 

“It’s not like I’m going to suddenly confess my undying love or anything,” Baekhyun began slowly, “But I’d like to hang out with him more.” 

*** 

He didn’t see Yixing in the great hall the next morning, so he assumed that he must be returning after breakfast. Not letting it weigh on his mind too much, he chatted to Chanyeol and some of his other housemates and wolfed down his food, quickly consuming a bowl of porridge, some eggs, half a grapefruit and chugging down a couple of goblets of pumpkin juice. He’d need the energy. 

There was a brief period between lessons to enable students to get to their classrooms, wherever they were in the castle. It was when Baekhyun was leaving his defence against the dark arts class and heading to care of magical creatures that he spotted Yixing walking towards the castle from the herbology greenhouses. Their eyes met briefly and Yixing shot him the most beautiful smile, the slightly more shallow dimple on his other cheek also sinking in. Baekhyun nearly tripped over his own feet at the sight, but managed to send his own smile back. 

The rest of his classes passed quickly enough. The academic year was getting on and O.W.Ls were approaching, so Baekhyun paid attention and kept his head down. His history of magic essay had earned him an E, which he was proud of and he managed to perfect his vanishing spell. It really felt like everything in his life was beginning to slot into place. 

It had become something of a tradition to meet every evening down by the lake after dinner. Baekhyun had a couple of hours before quidditch practice (which he had continued attending, although it had been nowhere near as intense whilst the captain had been away). He flopped onto the grass, wiggling around until he was comfortable with his head resting in Jongdae’s lap. Really, he should be starting his potions homework to get it finished and out of the way, but he had precisely zero motivation. Besides, it wasn’t due for another couple of days anyway, he could afford to be kind to himself. 

Jongdae suddenly startled, squinting at something in the distance, “Is that Yixing?”   
His four companions simultaneously, in a manner that was quite comical, jerked their necks around to check out what he was seeing. Sure enough, their friend was running towards them, his robes flying dramatically in the wind.   
He came to a stop just before them, panting in a desperate attempt to try and draw in breath. Junmyeon looked mildly disapproving, having taken it upon himself to be the responsible one and make sure that everyone had their life together, “Don’t you have detention?”   
“In like, three minutes,” Yixing confessed, “But I didn’t want to miss you. Baekhyun, please don’t leave the quidditch pitch after you finish practice tonight.”   
“Why not?” Baekhyun raised an eyebrow, ignoring the way his heart skipped at the thought of Yixing going to so much effort, running all the way from the castle just to talk to him.”   
“I owe you some lessons, don’t I?” 

It seemed so long ago that Baekhyun almost didn’t connect the dots. But of course, they had made a deal whilst he was in the hospital wing that Yixing hadn’t had a chance to uphold.   
“Yeah, I suppose you do,” He answered, ignoring Chanyeol’s snickering at his undoubtedly dopey expression.   
“Great!” Yixing told him brightly until his expression suddenly dissolved into panic, “Except I should be in detention right now so I’ll see you later.” 

As they watched him sprint back the way he had come, Minseok leaned over to Baekhyun, “See. I just don’t think he realises his own feelings yet.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer than it should, so I just cut it off. It's a bit short, but oh well. There'll be one more chapter (the hogsmeade date!!) and then this will be finished.

Baekhyun ignored the questioning looks from the gryffindor team when he made no move to follow them off the pitch after practice. A couple of them waited for a moment, motioning to him to join them as they approached the changing rooms but he waved them off, idling comfortably with his broom a couple of metres off the ground. For someone who’d only been flying for a few weeks, as before he joined the team he hadn’t gone near a broom since the mandatory first year lessons, he’d taken to it quickly and lounged fearlessly on his broom. 

Michael, who had mostly seemed to be avoiding talking to him since his blurted confession, furrowed his brow in confusion and looked as though he was about to go over. Baekhyun was just mentally preparing for the awkwardness of the coming conversation when he heard someone call his name from a distance. He spotted Yixing, still at the edge of the pitch as he waved frantically. His broom was just about visible as a dark blur on the grass next to his feet as he appeared to be frantically pulling on his flying gloves. As soon as they were on, his hand was out and his broom shot instantly into his grasp. In one smooth movement, he swung his leg over and flew over to Baekhyun. 

Michael had noticed Yixing too. His lip curled slightly, however he simply shot Baekhyun one more long, searching look before joining the rest of the gryffindor team. Baekhyun let out a relieved sigh. 

“You ready?” Yixing asked. Somehow, he made it look as though his broom was an extension of himself, as relaxed in the air as he was on the ground.   
Baekhyun beamed at him, “You bet. I’ve been wanting to learn for ages.”  
“It’s been a while since I promised to teach you,” Yixing hummed thoughtfully, “But I’ve never taught it to anyone else. Just give me a moment while I think about where to start.”   
Nodding dutifully, Baekhyun went quiet and allowed the other a few moments to think. Although they weren’t that high, it was incredibly peaceful. It felt like they were in their own little world, where no one else existed. So late in the evening, most students were in the castle so there was no one around to disturb them. 

“Okay,” Yixing appeared to have decided on his plan. A determined gleam appeared in his eye, “Can you do a somersault?”   
“Um-” Baekhyun looked at him suspiciously, “No? I mean, I’ve never actually tried…”   
“Then that’s where we begin!”

Baekhyun wasn’t really sure what he had expected, but Yixing was completely immersed in quidditch captain mode. His focus was completely on teaching, slowly going through each component of the move and waiting expectantly for Baekhyun to follow along. If it was anyone else, Baekhyun would probably have complaints at how high his expectations were but watching the intensity and passion that Yixing was showing only made him smile. 

They practiced for an hour, dedicated entirely to trying to make Baekhyun competent at doing somersaults at low levels. They were starting small, as the D’Orazio dive was a ridiculously complex move that required a lot of practice to not end catastrophically. Still, Yixing seemed to have pretty much mastered it contrary to his statement about still learning when Baekhyun had asked to be taught. 

Finally, they dropped their brooms onto the grass and flopped down beside them. They were both sweaty and exhausted, but smiling so widely that their cheeks began to sting.   
“I thought you said that you weren’t that good at it yet?” Baekhyun teased. Yixing smiled shyly, a rare extra dimple appearing beside his most prominent.   
“I had time to practice whilst I was excluded,” He admitted, “I practiced quidditch. Read through everything that I missed in class. It was still boring though.” 

The sun was setting, dipping drowsily behind the horizon. No more words needed to be said, a companionable silence settling over them as they watched the darkness creep in. The positive thing about Hogwarts being located so far from other civilisation, muggle or wizard, was that the stars could be seen. It was useful to divination and astronomy lessons, but most of all it was a beautiful sight. Baekhyun had never been one to stop and watch the stars before, but in the right company he couldn’t think of a better way to spend his time. 

“We should go,” Yixing eventually said although he sounded as reluctant as Baekhyun felt, “It’ll be curfew soon and we don’t need to get involved with any more trouble.”   
He stood up first, brushing the grass from his robes and offered his hand to Baekhyun. The gryffindor took it and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, ignoring the fluttering in his chest.   
“Same time tomorrow?” Baekhyun checked, “You still have detention don’t you?”   
“One more,” Yixing shook his head woefully, “You would not believe how difficult it is teaching first years. It’s hard to imagine that was us once.” 

He hadn’t dropped his hand. Baekhyun was painfully aware of the way their fingers remained interlinked, even as Yixing used his free hand to summon his broom. The younger did the same, uncertain whether this prolonged contact was intentional or another example of Yixing’s sporadic ditziness. Their hands remained linked as they walked across the pitch in an easy silence. It wasn’t until they had no choice other than to part ways that they separated. 

Baekhyun smiled all the way back to gryffindor tower. 

***  
“He won’t tell me,” Chanyeol whined, carefully timed for a moment where professor Binns was entirely immersed in describing the horrors of the Giant Wars.   
From a nearby desk, Jongdae rolled his eyes, “Maybe he has nothing to tell.”   
“He absolutely has something to tell!” Chanyeol’s voice rose dangerously and he froze for a moment before ultimately deciding that it was safe to continue, albeit at a lower volume, “He was all blushy when he came back to the common room last night. Something happened and I want to know!” 

Baekhyun jabbed his friend in the ribs, laughing to himself when he yelped at the unexpected attack. The entire class turned to stare at the abrupt noise that disturbed the lesson. Most students were used to Chanyeol doing questionable things, however professor Binns was significantly less impressed. He pinned the student with the most disgusted glare for daring to interrupt his teaching. Chanyeol wilted visibly. As soon as the class’s interest dissipated and the lesson continued, he made an attempt to hit Baekhyun back but his friend was prepared and blocked. 

“If anything really happened, I’d tell you,” Baekhyun promised. It wasn’t that he felt obliged to tell Chanyeol just because of the fuss he was making. He normally shared everything with his two closest friends, but he liked to wait until there was actually something to tell. Yixing was hard to read; he tended to be free with touch, particularly as he got close with people. Baekhyun could hardly bare the thought of spilling to his friends only for it to be casual contact on Yixing’s side.   
Chanyeol just smiled, briefly gripping his hand to give it a comforting squeeze. 

***  
Yixing seemed different. He’d somehow beaten Baekhyun to the pitch. There had been no gryffindor practice, so the younger student had spent his time as he usually did at the lakeside with Jongdae, Chanyeol, Minseok and Junmyeon. Even then, he’d sensed that something had changed. The two ravenclaws had been eyeing him oddly, occasionally muttering to each other in a way that made Baekhyun’s spine tingle. Anxiety gripped him despite his attempts to shake it off. 

They picked up where they’d left the night before. Yixing wasn’t being cold- he was perfectly in role as the determined quidditch captain, patient yet firm as he put Baekhyun through his paces. That aspect of his behaviour remained the same. It was the familiarity of his movements that had changed; previously it had been easy for them to move around each other as though they had been friends their entire lives. Now, the slytherin captain appeared to be awkwardly keeping as much distance as he could between them, even going so far as to flinch away when their hands came too close to brushing. 

Baekhyun tried to ignore it. He told himself that it was insignificant, he was reading too much into it, it was just him being dumb and making something out of nothing. Regardless, the anxiety poisoned him; panic began to bombard his limbs until he could feel it thrumming just beneath his skin, urging him to react. A sickness swirled lowly in his gut, rising and rising with each passing moment until it manifested into a terrible ache in his hollow chest. Over and over, his brain drummed a mantra into his thoughts until that was all that existed. He’s found out how you feel and he hates it. He found out how you feel and he hates it. He’s found out you feel and he- 

“Baekhyun?” Yixing stood before him, his lip trip between his teeth. The rest of his body language screamed nerves, “I actually had something I wanted to ask you.”   
Baekhyun squeezed his eyes shut. What explanation could there possibly be, other than he wanted to confirm how Baekhyun felt before rejecting him? It was Yixing, so of course he wouldn’t be cruel about it, but Baekhyun was not ready for that rejection just yet. He never should have put in so much effort to get close to the older boy. Then, it wouldn’t hurt so much when he got let down. 

“Baekhyun? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t,” Yixing’s expression dulled, disappointment seeping into his tone.   
“What?” He blinked in confusion. Okay, maybe he was too busy internally wallowing in self-pity to actually have any idea what had just been said, but did it make sense for Yixing to appear so sad? Or was this actually just another aspect to his personality that Baekhyun hadn’t been aware and his humiliation was acceptable in exchange for an ego boost? 

“I said,” Yixing repeated, “The next Hogsmeade trip is coming up soon. I know you usually go with Chanyeol and Jongdae, so I completely understand if you say no…”  
Cogs began to whir in Baekhyun’s brain, “What, so what you’re asking is-”  
“Baekhyun Byun, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?” Yixing interrupted, “That’s what I’m trying to ask you.” 

“Seriously?” Baekhyun blurted out, unable to prevent his less than eloquent speech due to his surprise.   
Yixing frowned. His eyes that had glimmered with a distinct element of hope took on a startlingly opposite aspect of hurt, “You never had to say yes. I didn’t think you’d be so horrified though.”   
“NO!” Realising what a poor job he was doing at expressing his true feelings, Baekhyun latched onto the older student, gripping his arm in sudden fear that he had taken it too far the wrong way and was about to leave, “No, I didn’t mean that. Well, I did but more in a ‘I’m so overwhelmed that you’re actually asking me this’ kind of way rather than a ‘Wow, what does he think he’s doing asking me’ way-”   
“Okay,” Yixing still looked a little perplexed, however he certainly seemed as though he was willing to hang around and listen to whatever point Baekhyun was getting to...whenever he stopped rambling and actually got there.” 

“I should shut up,” Baekhyun realised belatedly. Yixing was about to protest, but was cut off, “No, hang on. I’m getting to the point, which is that I would very much love to go to Hogsmeade with you, Yixing. Please pretend that this whole situation went much more smoothly.”   
“You’re sure?” The slytherin captain checked, biting back a smile, “This isn’t just you agreeing out of pity?”   
“Any one of our friends could tell you that it couldn’t be pity.” 

***  
“You didn’t even have to ask him?” Chanyeol repeated incredulously that night, whispering loudly enough that it was barely any quieter than his speaking voice. They were supposed to be going to sleep; the lights had long since shut off in the dormitory and the breathing of their roommates had long since evened out.   
“No, he asked me,” Baekhyun told him smugly. For years, he had harboured a crush on Yixing and he absolutely was useless at hiding things like that. Chanyeol had known from the very first day without a word being shared between them and the teasing had only become more intense as time went on. So excuse Baekhyun, if he could finally flaunt the fact that clinging onto his feelings for so long had finally paid off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end!

The Hogsmeade trip was to occur on the weekend after Yixing asked Baekhyun to go with him. They didn’t mention it again other than to arrange an appropriate time to meet at the Three Broomsticks, yet that didn’t stop the new connection formed by the invitation that buzzed electrically between them. They each began to see each other in a new light; for Baekhyun, Yixing was progressively becoming more and more like a real, tangible person rather than just the idealised romance he had spent years envisioning. Although the past few weeks had shown him sides to Yixing that he had never imagined, he’d still seemed untouchable. Knowing that he actually liked Baekhyun back, whatever the extent of his feelings were, actually helped Baekhyun feel a little less starstruck. It didn’t, however, lessen his nerves. 

For Yixing, it had been a sudden realisation that lead him to acknowledging his feelings. Of course, it wasn’t that he had felt coldly to Baekhyun before- he’d visited him in the hospital wing out of genuine concern and responsibility. It wasn’t until the whole situation with Michael that he’d started noticing how amazing Baekhyun was; he was incredibly dedicated, brave and unwavering, with a strong moral centre that resolutely refused to quiver before the opinions of others. Through the long days of his exclusion, he’d replayed their conversation from the potions corridor repeatedly in his mind, surprised by how much comfort he drew from it. Of course, he had Minseok and Junmyeon, whom he loved and trusted with all his heart, but that kind of acceptance from someone who had no loyalties to him soothed a worry that had eaten away at him for years. 

He hadn’t really processed these new feelings towards Baekhyun. His friends had noticed a change in behaviour before Yixing did, gently insinuating until he reached a sudden epiphany. It wasn’t a mutual respect or platonic affection that he held for the gryffindor student, but a genuine attraction. 

Which led up to the present, the both of them counting down the days with a mixture of nerves and excitement. They continued their almost daily quidditch practice, with Yixing dismissing the questions of his own team with a simple explanation of a debt owed after the despicable behaviour of Scott (who was banned from participating in quidditch for the rest of the year). Still, Baekhyun found himself getting eyed suspiciously in the corridor by some of the more competitive slytherins. 

Despite there being no official relationship (yet, Baekhyun thought to himself hopefully), news had spread around the school that the two of them were spending rather a lot of time together. Alone, at that. A couple of particularly nosy students had even approached him about it, giggling as they inquired into his personal affairs. He’d dismissed the rumours, excusing their newfound closeness with mutual friends and quidditch but uncertainty sparked in his stomach at the thought. What if he was reading into this completely wrong? Yixing was a friendly person, if a little awkward around strangers. He might have been asking for completely platonic reasons, trying to get closer to a new friend. 

Upon voicing his newfound fears to his friends, Jongdae shot it down instantly. The hufflepuff student had sneaked over to the gryffindor table for dinner. The bright yellow of his tie and robe lining was less was inconspicuous and Baekhyun was certain that professor McGonagall at least had noticed, but the woman pretended that her gaze that had just skimmed past their little huddle. 

Initially, Jongdae had snorted in amusement. Then he’d realised that Baekhyun was actually concerned and upset, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but Minseok and Junmyeon told us that they thought Yixing liked you. This was before he even asked you to go to hogsmeade with him. Then, after, Minseok said that it was confirmed.”   
“It’s against every friendship code I’ve ever heard of to share confidential information like that,” Chanyeol scolded, appearing to be genuinely perplexed at the betrayal. Then, he considered for a moment, “Actually, never mind. If both people like each other, it’s probably in the code to do everything within our power to stop them dancing around each other and actually get together.”   
“Firstly, Chanyeol, it’s a very beautiful thing that you believe so strongly in the friendship code. Please, never stop,” With that out of the way, Baekhyun lowered his voice, overly aware of the amount of ears that wouldn’t mind a bit of free gossip, “He talked about me? He told them that he’s into me?”   
Chanyeol deliberately placed his knife and fork down, seriously turning to his friend, “Baekhyun, I absolutely promise you that you have nothing to worry about. Yixing asked you to go with him because he likes you and wants to spend time with you. All you have to do is go, because you like him too, and be your usual wonderful self. Understand?” 

Baekhyun just smiled. 

***  
The morning of the Hogsmeade trip began with Baekhyun frantically trying to complete his homework before he had to go. He’d had the foresight to borrow some relevant books from the library earlier in the week, so at least he could scribble in just-about-legible handwriting from the comfort of his bed. Really, he should have finished earlier but he’d been focusing more on quidditch than he’d ever imagined possible and, although he had developed more of a passion for the sport than he’d expected, having Yixing coaching him wasn’t helping him focus more on his classwork. 

“Am I going to be late?” He asked Chanyeol frantically, “Shall I just not do this?”   
Chanyeol had been lingering around the doorway to their room, waiting for Baekhyun to finish so that they could leave together. At this, he turned solemnly to his friend, “Baekhyun, if you need to be a few minutes late, be a few minutes late. Yixing will understand. You know that you’d be distraught if you let your grades suffer for a boy.” 

Woefully, Baekhyun returned to leafing through the pages of an enormous leather-bound volume, cursing wizards commitment to the aesthetic as he went. There was still plenty of time, as he wasn’t due for his date (that was what it was, right?) until noon. Still, he and Chanyeol had intended to head to Scrivenshaft’s together to stock up on quills before the exam season started and possibly to Honeydukes too. If Baekhyun didn’t finish soon, he’d end up late too meet Yixing because, regardless of whether it was for the boy he was convinced was the actual love of his life or not, there was no way in hell he was ditching Chanyeol. They had plans, they would complete the plans and only then would Baekhyun go to the Three Broomsticks, he swore absolutely. 

***  
So, Baekhyun was late. Despite absolutely sweeping through his homework, praying that it was at least passable and dragging Chanyeol through their shopping at lightspeed, he still didn’t deliberate over what incredibly important decision to make at Honeydukes. Usually, he liked to take his time, adventuring into new, unknown flavours and spicing up his life with a bit of variety in his sweets. Instead, he’d grabbed the first packet of sugar quills that he’d seen when he’d stepped in, sticking with his theme of purchases and paid immediately. In a rush, he’d even offered to buy Chanyeol’s choice of cauldron cakes. His friend had easily complied, understanding his haste and Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel a spark of extra affection for his friend.

They entered the Three Broomsticks together, casting their eyes around in the search for Yixing. The pub was filled, heaving with patrons, most of whom were fellow Hogwarts students. It was a chaotic horde of the four representative house colours and every time he spotted a flicker of green, Baekhyun found that it wasn’t Yixing.   
“What if he got fed up of waiting and left?” He asked Chanyeol anxiously when he still hadn’t spotted him. 

Not even bothering to dignify that with an answer, his friend grabbed his hand and dragging into the writhing mass of people. They circled around once, twice, searching for the familiar face of the slytherin captain before they finally spotted him. He was tucked away in a corner booth, face resting in his hands while he talked to someone. They were facing away, so all Baekhyun could see was the back of a head. 

It was busy enough in the pub that Baekhyun and Chanyeol went unnoticed even as they approached. Rather than announce their arrival, when they were just a couple of metres away Chanyeol grabbed hand and spun him around until they stood nearby with their backs to Yixing.   
“What are you doing?” Baekhyun hissed, turning around to go and meet his date.   
Chanyeol shoved him back into position, “Idiot! Look, you’re late anyway so you may as well listen. They’re talking about you.” 

With a more subtle glance, Baekhyun managed to identify the person opposite Yixing as Junmyeon. Although guilt rolled in his stomach, his curiosity and insecurity won out and he followed Chanyeol’s eavesdropping plan to the T. 

“It’s been twenty minutes,” Yixing was saying, sounding disappointed, “He might have just realised that he didn’t actually want to come.”   
“Don’t be stupid. You know he was with Chanyeol- they probably just lost track of time,” Junmyeon didn’t entertain his worries for even a moment, his firm tone leaving no room for argument.   
Of course, Yixing was possibly the most stubborn person in the world and was not comforted in the slightest, “I’m serious, Jun. I haven’t exactly shown him my best sides and he knows about my parents. He probably thought about it more deeply and realised that it wasn’t worth it after all.”   
“Xing…” The ravenclaw student didn’t seem to know what to say. 

Baekhyun’s heart broke. He couldn’t bear to be stood there, listening as Yixing spilled some of his deepest fears, inflicted by Baekhyun himself. Chanyeol didn’t try to stop him as he spun on his heel and marched over to Yixing’s table. Yixing immediately straightened up at his arrival, bewildered by his abrupt appearance. Still, some of the tension appeared to leave his body, the uncertain stiffness evaporating from his limbs. 

Sliding out the booth, Junmyeon grabbed onto Chanyeol, “Hi, Baek. We’ll leave you two to it. C’mon, Chanyeol, lets see if we can find Jongdae and Minseok.”   
Their quick departure left Baekhyun awkwardly stood next to the table. He quickly pulled himself together, sliding into the booth across from Yixing. The slytherin student seemed more subdued than he’d ever seen him, the usual easy confidence replaced by a slight shyness. He motioned towards a bottle on the table “Um, I got you a drink. I wasn’t sure what you liked but butterbeer’s pretty universal?” 

Gratefully, Baekhyun took a long slurp from the bottle. Sure, most wizards tended to enjoy it, but to him it was one of the wonders of the world. He had a serious sweet tooth and few other drinks managed to create such an intense sweetness without being sickly. It may have been a pretty broad guess, but Baekhyun couldn’t help the flip of his stomach that Yixing managed to get him his favourite beverage without even needing to ask.   
“Thanks, I love it,” He told him honestly. However, the sweet taste couldn’t quite wash away the bitterness of the guilt that remained, “Yixing, you know that I overheard you just now?” 

Although the confession lifted the guilt from his shoulders, the aggrieved expression that made its way onto Yixing’s face hurt. He hurriedly tried to fix the situation, “I’m sorry. It’s just that we were already late and I’ve been so anxious that maybe you don’t actually like me that Chanyeol wanted me to hear you talk about me…”   
Yixing remained silent for a moment, considering, before repeating the part of Baekhyun’s admission that he fixated on, “You thought I didn’t like you?”   
“I promise that it has nothing to do with who your parents are. I already told you that I don’t care about that,” Baekhyun blurted out, before he processed what Yixing had said. Then, he realised, “Of course I was nervous!”

Yixing tilted his head, thinking deeply about something. Although he seemed nervous, his basic straight-forward nature won out over his worries and he looked Baekhyun straight in the eye whilst blatantly saying, “I like you. Do you like me?”   
Fireworks exploded in Baekhyun’s chest. He’d spent years pining over Yixing without any expectations or even hope that his feelings could possibly be returned. Since he was a mere lost first year, with Yixing as the knight in shining armour that came to his aid when he needed it, he’d entertained fantasies of these words being uttered. That’s what he’d always thought that they would remain as- fantasies. Yet here he was, sat directly across from the person with whom he’d fallen in love at first sight, who’d confessed to him first. 

“Yixing,” He said seriously, holding the intense eye contact unblinkingly, “I’ve basically been in love with you for the last five years.” 

***  
This must be paradise. What other explanation could there be for this state of absolute bliss that Baekhyun had found himself in? Warm sunlight washed lovingly over them, creating a gentle golden haze through the treeline. With their fingers linked loosely together, Baekhyun and Yixing wandered freely through the woods that edged the small wizarding village, enjoying both the weather and each other’s company. 

“Look at these!” Yixing suddenly broke their hold, crouching down in fascination to look at a pretty silver flower, “It’s moondew.”   
Baekhyun was more interested in the delighted glimmer that had appeared in Yixing’s eyes and the entrancing way his dimples appeared, but he dutifully asked, “Moondew?”   
“You’ll learn about it next year,” the older boy told him, gently touching the petals, “It’s used in the draught of living death.”   
“It’s pretty,” Baekhyun said.   
“It reminds me of you.” 

Apparently, Yixing hadn’t meant for that to slip out. He looked startled himself, his ears reddening ever so slightly. It was nothing in comparison to the rosy shade Baekhyun’s own cheeks had flushed.   
“You’re pretty, too,” Yixing finally confessed, deciding that he may as well continue with his honesty now that’d started, “But it’s also very sweet. They use it to help sweeten butterbeer, actually.” 

“You think I’m pretty and sweet?” Baekhyun teased, trying to disguise how touched he actually was. Still, his tone betrayed how pleased he really was with the compliment.   
“Among other things,” Yixing smirked, his confidence returning as he realised that he hadn’t been too intense or ruined anything. Baekhyun just laughed. 

He’d thought it might be awkward to be alone together after their sudden confessions, but it was actually easier than ever. Previously, there had been a slight barrier between them. For Baekhyun, it was, as far as he was aware, unrequited feelings and the constant fear that one day he’d go too far, say something wrong that made Yixing realise and never want to be near him again. For Yixing, it was the uncertainty of his own feelings and what it was that he wanted from Baekhyun. He’d always been someone who knew what he wanted and was prepared to work infinitely hard to get it, but this unknown warmth when he saw the gryffindor student confused him. 

Now, they were free from the shackles of their insecurities to be happy together. As the sun began to dip in the sky, staining the horizon with a myriad of pink and red and violet, they began to return to the castle. Both of them were smiling widely, pressing closely together as they walked. 

Just before they reached the school, Baekhyun stopped. He took a long look at his… well, he supposed Yixing was his boyfriend now. He wanted to capture this moment forever- Yixing with his fluffy black hair falling into his eyes, dimples pressed deeply into his cheeks and his eyes glowing with adoration as he stared at Baekhyun. 

This was happiness.


	7. A Playlist of Sweet Love Songs Because I Enjoy Inflicting My Own Music Taste Onto Other People

Unchained Melody - Lykke Li (Cover of the song by The Righteous Brothers)  
I Don't Mind - Defeater  
Ge ne rique fin ' My Name' - Ibrahim Maalouf  
To Love Somebody - The Howl & The Hum  
Tangled Up In You - Staind   
One For The Wildflowers - Mat Kerekes  
1949 - Mallory Knox  
Peach - The Front Bottoms  
Beside You - Marianas Trench  
Too Emotional - Walking On Cars

Keepsake - Basement

**Author's Note:**

> I got the sudden urge to write Hogwarts baekxing and this just happened in one sitting. Tbh, the quality definitely started to go downhill towards the end but I haven't been inspired to write this much at once in a long time, so I'm just putting it out there before I change my mind. I fully intend to write at least one more chapter.  
> Kyungsoo wasn't excluded for a reason! Lmao, i barely squeezed in a mention of Jongin and Sehun but I have a few ideas floating my head for them all if I continue this.


End file.
